The Lumpy Sweater

 If someone has taken a brief wander around the knitting blogosphere—by the way, I hate the word blogosphere—then they’ve probably run across Marilyn’s blog. However, I always think of her by the name of her blog—the Knitting Curmudgeon. In her latest edition of Open Mic Thursday, she asked;

• Are you still using Ravelry? If not, why not?I continue to see the value in Ravelry, although probably not for me. One friend, who shall go nameless, says that it can be an enormous time waster. Another friend is convinced that it has become KnitDweeb Heaven. Well, that was rather easy to predict. It is what it is, and you can use it as you wish.

 I love the phrase KnitDweebs. After being mauled by a panting, frothing mass of irrational knitters, KnitDweebs is a comforting term. I briefly answered Marilyn’s question with 3 easy ways to avoid KD, but it got me thinking, about Ravelry and dweebs in general.

 The funny thing is that good old fashioned trolls bother me less than some of the dweebs that I see on Ravelry. Having someone post, “Acrylic is for dirty people,” is less disturbing than the Nice Nazi. The first person is simply stupid. The second group is everywhere and they are CONVINCED that anything less than sugary heaven means that Ravelry will fall apart.

 This means that even reasoned discussion is immeaditely followed by a thread entitled,  “The Hand-Holding Thread” or, “The Lovey Thread,” or something similarly saccharine. That irritates me. Irritates the heck out of me.

 That may simply be because I am not a naturally nice person. Sarcasm, a quick retort, snotty quip—come on, I’m a teenager, you’re surprised at that? But overall, I think Ravelry helps to tone down the loudest dweebs. The worst forums are inbred little enclaves of “regulars” who all have labels next to their names like “Permanent Resident” or something similarly patrician. Ravelry is too huge for that to happen easily. The few people that get noticed are noticed because they’re nice, not because they’re trolls.

  As a teenager on forums other than Ravelry, my regular posts get pats on the head. My opinionated posts have gotten me into some of the weirdest, nastiest discussions that I’ve ever had, barring the fanfiction emails I once exchanged with a fanfiction goddess and her outraged fans. (That story LATER) That exchange left a bad taste in my mouth, so I very rarely frequent that forum anymore.

 My absolute favorite was when I posted about a certain yarn that I liked. This was after the first incident and I decided to give the forum another go. I did not start a new thread. I added my thoughts to an already existing thread. One person was virulent about their dislike of this yarn. Whatever, I didn’t respond to that.

 Imagine my surprise when a little message arrived for me–from that same person telling me all about how horrible this yarn was and how since I was a “new knitter” and all stuff that I probably didn’t know how this yarn was just full of knots, etc.

 I politely responded that our experiences differed and our exchange ended amicably enough. No harm, no foul. But it reminded me of how incredibly…incestous it all felt.

 So, yes, there are definitely dweebs on Ravelry. Can we possibly hope to avoid them all? But it’s certainly far more valuable than the few trolls. Stick to the knitting, or crocheting or spinning—it all works out.

 In breaking news about teen crafters, Kaya is planning to release a teen knitting magazine at Teen Knitting Magazine. The official release date is June 15. The website is still being ironed out, so if you can’t access the website immeaditely, there’s a reason. She’s asking for teen-created patterns and articles.

 I’m personally interested to see if a teen-run magazine will be able to make a good go of it. She’s set up a Ravelry group here and so far many people have volunteered. Proposed columns include a book review column and a what not to knit or crochet feature, which should be fun. I will be writing a column that will feature a teen knitter or crocheter of the month.

 Anyone with advice for Kaya, please drop a line here or on her blog—I’m sure that she would appreciate it!

 OK, so you’re really proud of your brandnew shiny Ravelry group.

 Now what?

 Here’s 10 tips, tricks and facts that will help your successful moderating career, and keep your group growing and vibrant. Most of the questions answered here are ones that I’ve asked myself—and answered many times since—when I was new to moderating.

• Start With A Bang

 Nothing can replace enthusiastic members who participate without encouragement, but you can do your part to start your group with a bang. Most successful groups take off in the first few days, and in those first few days, you need to create loyalty among your members. If your group handles panic or anxiety attacks, you could start off with a compelling question like, “How Do You Avoid Your Triggers?” Or, “Do You Still Sleep with Your Teddy Bear?”. Ask something that is relevant–and interesting— to your members.

• How to Edit a Thread: Quick Fact

 How do you sticky an important thread, or maybe lock an outdated one? Click on the thread, and at the top, you’ll see a little pencil right next to the thread name. That’s your moderator pencil of power–click on it! From there, you can sticky your thread, mark a controversial discussion as heated, or even whoosh a redundant thread to another.

• Jump in Feet First

 Nothing is more boring than a moderator who doesn’t seem excited about their own group. If you’re excited about the group, LET IT SHOW! Hop in your group feet first, and maybe start a knit or crochet a long of a relevant project. Above all, don’t disappear. If you’re going to be gone, make sure that your members know why you aren’t responding to their messages. Apathy is killer.

• Be Patient

 I know that I said most successful groups take off with a bang, but I’ll admit something—not all of my groups have. Never, ever post deragatory posts about your members, or how this group doesn’t seem to be working out, yada yada. You’re the moderator, you make it work—and just wait a little bit! Sometimes, it takes some time.

• Ask For Help!

 Do you have a member who is consistently helpful, kind and (most importantly) is active in the group? Consider making them a moderator—some groups only need one or two, but others can use 3, 4, or even more moderators to help keep the group a vibrant, growing and safe community. You can’t always be there. I’ve had to ask fellow moderators to cover my back when I have been sick or traveling and they have always been there for me.

• Shut the (—) Up!

 I’m a naturally enthusiastic and loudmouthed person, and I love my moderator hat. But sometimes, you just need to shut up, take off the hat, and listen to your members. One member of mine came up with a brilliant idea that I never would have myself—she suggested doing a round robin letter writing event, and I should be getting a letter in the mail soon. It’s a great way to connect with the other members, and if you never shut up, you will drown out the genius in your group!

• Rosencrantz & My Group Are Dead

 You’ve tried—really tried— to make a great group. But your group is dead, dead, deader than a doornail. The last post (that wasn’t yours) was three months ago. Guess what? It’s not permanent. Take a deep breath—and look at your own approach to the group. Maybe Knitters for World Peace can’t knit 80,000 sweaters to protest war. But maybe you can all pledge to buy only yarn from fair-trade companies, and you can help to encourage each other to stick to this for an entire year. People get excited when they feel like they have something to give.

• Help, My Group is Running Away and I Can’t Keep Up!

 Is your group tripling its membership every day? Are the posts multiplying before your eyes like pagan icons of fertility rabbits? Again, a trusted moderator can help lighten your load considerably—if you’re unsure of who to pick, again, look at a member who shows diplomacy, kindness and tact, and ask them! Most won’t turn you down.

• I Hate My Group

 Maybe you’ve had to deal with a lot of controversy in your group lately, and it’s wearing you down. A super negative member repeatedly taxes your last nerve, and you resist an urge to abuse your moderator power of delete on their posts. Once more, I stress the important of a trusted moderator— and then step back from the situation a bit. The world is not ending. You are not mean or bad because you have to reprove a member. If you remember to (1) never post in anger, and (2) get a little real life perspective. Walk the cat, comb your hair, and only ever vent to family members or close and trusted friends.

• Brainstorm—on paper

 If you need more ideas for your group, turn off the computer, pick up a piece of paper and a pen, and do some brainstorming on paper. Look at the focus of your group. What do you want your group to become? Pick three words that you want your group to embody, and choose three ways to make that happen.

There you have it, 10 ways to boot up and improve your group.

 If you’re another Ravelry moderator, or maybe you’d like to start a group, but maybe you’d like more basic information on how to do this, leave a comment! I’d love to answer your questions, or hear your perspective as a moderator!

 I normally don’t blog so rapidly, but just staying on top of the Magknits  situation has already taken me two blog posts, first here

Magknits: Tempers, Tongue & Sweaters

and here

Magknits Follow-Up: What Happened & My Sweater

However, Kerrie herself has spoken, and posted this on her blog, here’s a link, and an excerpt of what she had to say.

• This was NOT a spur of the moment decision, I have been talking about closing down MagKnits for over a year now - yesterday was just the right day. All the designers payments are still going through and there are no advertisers to be paid so we’ll be all square in a couple of days. Lots of the designers are republishing on Ravelry and various other places which is brilliant. If I could have given them all notice I would have done but it wasn’t possible at the time.While this was not a spur of the moment decision and was one that had been coming for a long while the timing was 100% caused by the nastiness on a particular forum that I’d appreciate if nobody named in the comments. For those that don’t know don’t need to know.

 So, Casey’s and Phoenix’s ideas were confirmed—as well as my own—that Magknits was probably coming to a graceful end anyway. My personal belief, although I don’t speak for anyone but myself, is that this was indeed the catalyst that finally pushed Kerrie to make a hard decision.

 I don’t judge her for wanting to lighten her workload. It obviously wasn’t working the way that she wanted it to, and she needs her life back. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to pour your whole self into something, and get crap back from people. I just wish that she could have chosen a better way to end it. I really do.

 Magknits is gone, and for a short time I panicked, because my sweater that I am knitting is a MagKnits pattern-Basic Black. Fortunately, the designer (Glenna) is going to repost the pattern on her blog. What a relief.

 Anyway, a lot of people are still asking questions about what exactly happened, which is easily evidenced by the crazy amounts of hits that I got yesterday. (About 10 times my normal traffic) I nearly had a heart attack when Casey hisself appeared on my comments to contribute to the conversation.

 I want to state, firstly, that I’m sorry that I created the impression that Ravelry destroyed or killed Magknits. My personal opinion is that its demise was inevitable, but happened sooner because of the conversations. Again, we can’t know.

 I was going to post my own further thoughts on the situation, but the thoughtful comments have outdone my own efforts, and I’ll post some excerpts from them.

 Phoenix said,

• I think it’s a brief summary of what happened this week, but it’s worth pointing out that this week’s drama is just the tip of the iceberg. This particular pattern of testy complaints and testy replies have been a regular occurrence since at least last fall when I start to be aware of them. I stopped even reading the regular “Hey the new Magknits is up” threads because of the clear undercurrent of bad vibes months ago. Actually I stopped reading Magknits too, but that’s a different issue.This week was just the straw that broke the camel’s back for all involved and watching from the sidelines. Also while people may be tempted to lay blame at Ravelry’s door, I’d point out that the number of participants in those threads was relatively small compared to Magknits readership and the customer base of the other related enterprises. In the end only about 100 people responded to that thread, and the bulk of those were responses after the fact. Kerrie and Co. have been complaining for ages about the drain of Magknits on their time and resources. The writing has been on the wall about this for a very long time. I really can’t say I’m surprised at all.

 Becky said

• I am sorry, and surprised, about MagKnits, too, for whatever the reason. Loved the patterns and have used several. Good summary, and personally, I don’t think it was Ravelry.Some might think it is sticking my head in the sand, but I prefer the threads there with more positive waves. My universe responds better to the positive, plus there are real negatives IRL to save my energy for.

 Jinniver had some paticularly interesting insight on the situation.

• This is coming from a complete outsider who never even heard of Magknits until now, so take it for little it may be worth…That said, I did read the Ravelry thread you linked to, out of curiosity. The responses could mostly be put into three groups: the largest were people upset about the fact that they’d been given no warning that site was coming down; the second largest (of almost equal size) was split between cries for help and assistance with finding patterns; and the third and smallest were those defending the decision as it was made. What I found highly ironic was that most of the vitriol that I saw was to be found in that LAST group–beautifully captured by the “poke yourself in the eye with a double pointed needle” comment. Many of the Ravelers upset with the decision pointed out that it was a bad business move and said that the felt it could have been spiteful (as a non-user and late-comer, I agree). Some members of that third group then threw hissy fits (um, no pun intended) about the bashing and made nasty comments. Definitely need to stomp out dissent and free discussion, don’t we?I haven’t read any of the other threads, so I don’t know anything about the alleged problems with shipments and designer payments. But I have to say that the handling of the demise of Magknits alone is enough to ensure I won’t be dealing with either company. As many people on both sides of the argument pointed out, the creator of Magknits didn’t owe knitters anything. However, they violated the trust of those knitters, and they’re going to find that to be very hard to earn back.Fortunately, you got the sweater pattern, so at least some good came out of it!

 SweetP made a practical observation.

• and is a sad fact of life on the internet that there is no guarantee of access forever. I’m quite shocked actually.

 Gail pointed out the vocal attitude of unhappy customers!

• It seems silly to blame an object or site for the actions of individuals.That said, it is also of importance to know that for every 100 satisfied customers, there are a few (usually less than 5) who are unhappy and VOCAL about it. Those 100 happy folks are usually quiet about their happiness but those who are not happy are usually very willing to tell everyone that they are unhappy. It’s human nature - good and bad.Most business owners know this and work to solve problems quickly. The problem happens when the unhappy person posts their problems before the business owner/operator has the opportunity to fix the problem.

  In this time of instant everything, it is hard for some to wait any time for gratification. Shame on us all.

 Then, the immortal Casey chimed in!

• What phoenix said I don’t think that the disappearance was because of Ravelry users - I was very surprised that MagKnits put out a new issue at all because I thought that the end was near.Of course, the sudden disappearance may not have been a coincidence. Perhaps it was always planned for this week, perhaps it is a statement or an emotional reaction, we may never know…

 And Casey is exactly right. We will never know.

 However, the bright side is that the designers with published Magknits patterns seem to be making a big effort to make their patterns available again, so I’m sure that all the frantic people who found my blog by looking for the Miss Muffet pattern will be able to get that pattern!

Further updates on the situation are here and here. I also fixed a broken link, thanks to a helpful comment!

Magknits is officially dead. All the patterns have been taken down, and the only thing that is left is a farewell letter.

 I’m trying hard to provide an objective view of what has happened here, because I am knitting a pattern from Magknits, so all my links to Magknits are broken, and because I’m not quite sure that I have all the pages to my pattern. I have been informed that the designer for my pattern is going to post it on her blog, thank goodness, and other patterns will likely be uploaded to Ravelry.

 I think Ravelry officially provided the push to kill Magknits, and here’s my reasons why. Note: Magknits has been coming to a graceful end for some time now, I am discussing what I think was the catalyst for this. I heart Ravelry!

The Timeline: What Killed Magknits

• Pissed at HipKnits

 On Ravelry, someone started a thread asking Anyone Else Have Problems with Hipknits? Apparently, quite a few people had dealt with missing packages, no refunds and other problems with Kerrie’s service, the woman who runs HipKnits and is also involved with Magknits. Kerrie had even deleted a thread in her own Ravelry Hipknits group that was asking about problems. Kerrie has apparently been juggling a heavy workload and a child with health issues this year.

• Where’s the Dough, Joe?

 Apparently inspired by this thread, a designer told about her experience  with Magknits. She submitted her pattern, heard nothing back from them, and her pattern, Miss Muffet, appeared on the front page of Magknits! The important part is that she received no payment. Kerrie posted on the thread, saying

            The normal process for MagKnits is that designers send in an idea (sketch, swatch etc), I reply liking it and we provisionally agree on a month for it to be published. Then when the full submission comes in with the signed copyright bit attached it is filed in the “ready to be published” folder and goes into the queue for tech editing and publication.

           Until I get to the PC in the office on Monday with my archived emails on I’m not sure what happened with the Miss Muffet pattern. I know that I have a copy of the full submission packet with the signed declarations though, which is why it was published. I’ll wait to hear from Marjorie to determine how I ended up with that without her being aware that we were going to publish it.

          BTW - its not a nosey questions at all, this is a really strange circumstance. I need to look at our processes to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

             I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt here, and assuming that this was probably an oversight. Nonetheless, this thread, on top of the HipKnits thread, continued for quite some time.

• Too Much?

 I think that, with the complaints, the anger, the tears, the wagging tongues and tempers must have just pushed Kerrie straight over the edge. OK, I understand that she needs more space and time. That’s fine. But abruptly taking down the site, with little to no warning at all seems like a very impulsive, over the top decision—like the kid who grabs all her toys and says, “I’m never going to play with you AGAIN!”

 It certainly isn’t a good business decision. With grace, tact and some swift action, Kerrie could have preserved both her reputation and her business. She might have been able to transfer Magknits to someone else–for heaven’s sake, with the traffic that the site gets, someone must want it! But with this thoughtless, retalitory ‘punishment’ for people who finally had a place to vent, where she could not censor them….well, I think it’s safe to say that this is going to hurt her for a long, long time to come.

 Further discussion is continuing on these threads

The End of Magknits

Magknits Designers, Please Link Your Patterns Here!

But a link is all that I can manage. I am worn out from this party!

Winners Announced

This is part two of a two part series, find part one here!

 We’ve discussed the hive mind mentality among the crafting community, and how many crafters lash out at others who express honest but critical opinions of something—anything! Whether it is a magazine, a popular sock yarn or a knitting method, many people consider criticism as ‘mean’ or cruel.

 Then comes the backlash. Inevitably, a frustrated crafter goes off the deep end. Suddenly, everything that is popular is bad. They smugly tout the fact that they have never knitted socks. Why would anyone want to knit something as dumb as the Clapotis? Or Fetching? Or the So-Called Scarf.

 I’m not referring to honest questions. I’ve seen people ask why someone would knit dishcloths—do they really work? What kind of yarn would you smear across your dirty dishes? How do you clean them? Or; why would someone knit fingerless gloves? Where do you use them, are they really trendy right now? What pattern would my teenage son like?

 However, the Kool Kidz aren’t about honesty. All they do is smugly point to their own spotless record of never knitting anything that was even remotely popular. On Ravelry, there have been people who appparently consider it IMPERATIVE that they start a thread to ask, “Hey, retards, why RU knitting socks?” Or, what’s so hot about lace?

 I struggle with my own urges to become a Kool Kid. I don’t want to be seen as part of a faceless crowd. I want to be unique. I resent the idea that I should adore every single popular pattern out there. Gushing praise for every garter stitch scarf out there makes me queasy.

 But I also don’t want to become a part of a different hive mind mentality, one that mocks other crafters for their choices, or eschews wonderful patterns because thousands of people are knitting it. I would simply become part of another little club; maybe a smaller one, but one that’s just as harmful and incestous as the other.

 Honestly, keeping a balance can be difficult, and I think that one solution is to examine your motives. Why are you starting this thread? Why are you lashing out at another crafter’s honest criticism?

If we can be honest about that, maybe we can start to get rid of the hive mind mentality—both kinds.

 I don’t like to focus too many posts just on Ravelry, simply because I know that some people are not on the site yet, but I have such exciting news that I just can’t keep it in any longer. Teens Knit & Crochet is really my darling group; the first one that I have ever started, and one that is a continual reward to moderate. When I saw that we were only a few members away from 300 members, I knew that we had to celebrate.

 Here’s the problem: see my banner. See the broke part? That makes celebrating with real stuff, like, uh, yarn and good stuff difficult. Because I work hard enough to keep myself in yarn, let alone throwing yarn to the masses.

 That’s where the generosity of the craft community, Ravelry in paticular, comes in. You have to understand that I’m an independent person. I don’t like to ask for help. I don’t even like to admit that yes, possibly, I might need some help. My motto as a child was, ‘I do it self’ which didn’t reassure my parents, already terrified by my other favorite motto; ‘I have no fears.’ However, I bit the bullet, and asked how I could get some sponsorship for the party event. Right away, Jillie offered to dye some yarn for me—and I hadn’t even asked yet!

 After that, Susan, or Justkeepingknitting, offered to advise me if I needed more help. I knew that I needed a lot of advice, so I PMed her, and she wrote back, and I wrote out an official request for sponsorship, and posted it on the Yarnies group and on the Etsy sellers group–with moderator permission, of course!

 Well, I’ll skip the boring bits, and just list all the LOOT that the very generous and very fabulous members of the yarn community have offered for the Teen party!

 The drawing will be entirely random, and you must be a teenager to enter. You must post in the Official Party thread. The Official Party 300 thread will be opened this Saturday, and there will be a pre-party party in the Lingr chatroom, starting at 9:00 EST.

 The Unique Sheep is using their sportweight merino yarn, Footprints, as the base yarn for a colorway inspired by the partys theme–Spunk! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

 The Loopy Ewe is donating J. Knits sock yarn, and a pattern to go with it! The winner gets to pick their own favorite color. Thanks, Sheri!

Sonny and Shear is making a unique contribution—one that centers around the theme Spunk!—two skeins of Dream in Color baby laceweight yarn. One skein in the color Buter Peeps, and other in the color Into the Mystic. That’s 700 yards of Australian merino, yum. The laceweight will hopefully challenge two lucky members to try out their lace skills!

Jillie, who saw my frantic post asking for help, is also hand-dyeing some yarn for the group! First, she’s donating three skeins of Gianni, 120 yards each of worsted weight wool with some natural lanolin still in it! Secondly, we have Yasmine (I love that name!) 200 yards of hand dyed worsted weight cotton. Thanks so much, Jillie!

Oriri Draco Design is donating a skein of absolutely fabulous sock yarn–a merino, bamboo and nylon blend—called Lil Squish, in the Cherry colorway. Look at how shiny it is!

 Anushka, one of our own teen designers, is donating two copies of her brandnew and super cute hat pattern, Ava, at her blog Magic Fingers. You should also check out her latest post with her legwarmer pattern—trust me, it is really great.

 Ysolda Teague, one of my very own favorite designers of ALL TIME is donating a really fantastic prize. Whoever wins this prize gets to pick any pattern from her shop. I have to confess, I am really drooling over this one, but thankfully, impartial parties will be picking the winners and their prizes!

Ruth, from her etsy shop Spinning Doggies is donating a beautiful flaming colored project bag, to help keep your craft stuff together!

Stage Coach Yarns has donated not just one, but TWO prizes from their website. First, two skeins of merino yarn for socks or mittens, and two skeins of a merino-cotton blend that would make a nice hat! Winners get to choose their own colors!

 Bonnieshae, another teenage group member, has donated as well! First, a skein of Elsebeth Silky Wool that would make a great Branching out scarf for someone. Secondly, a skein of Artful Yarns Shakespeare, 135 yards of wooly goodness, along with a pair of 10.5 size needles. Some poor starving teen knitter will thank you, Bonnie!

 Foxyie, from her etsy shop Foxyie is donating two skeins of recycled wool that she has dyed herself, and two skeins of hand-dyed wool in great, boy-ee colors for the male members of the group, if they are entirely afraid of pink!

 All of these prizes are fabulous, every single one, and I was overwhelmed by the generosity that was showered on me, but I have to admit, I screamed like a little kid when Casey himself sent me a message to say that he and Jess also wanted to contribute to the party. They have pledged $30 of BobBucks for the coming Ravelry store. Neither BobBucks or the Ravelry store exist yet, but they will!

 Thank you, everyone. This is going to be an amazing party.

 Ravelry pretty much has everything except a church, so I wasn’t surprised to run across the Penpals on Ravelry group. I hemmed and hawed a little, because I wondered if my seriously inconsistent self could do justice to another penpal. Finally, however, I posted, asking for a penpal. I was pleasantly surprised when someone who I had ‘met’ on another board PMed me and said that they, too, were looking for a penpal.

  I wrote a letter, promptly lost it, and then wrote another, and stuffed it into the mail. Then, it was my turn to anxiously wait for a letter in my mailbox. Rain or shine, I was outside, checking the mail. To my delight, on Monday, there lay a long, crackly letter addressed to me! I snatched it up, tossing the ads and assorted junk mail (UP TO $5000 CREDIT, NO INTEREST UNTO THE TENTH GENERATION!!!) onto the counter.

  My CA penpal had written a luciously long letter; I sat down and read every bit. Then, I wrote another long letter in reply—and added it to the long letter I had already written, in my impatience. This letter is so fat that it’s thicker than some paperback books! I added a tiny little extra to the letter-nothing huge, but I hope that she enjoys it. I’ll tell you what it is when she gets the letter!

 In the midst of all this letter-writing, what do I hear about, but a free card that you can send until the 31st of this month?

 Apparently, John Adams, a fiery founder father with speech skillz that even Jefferson admired,  was a great letter-writer, and he and his wife exchanged hundreds of letters during their lifetime. This is a promotion of letter writing and the new mini-series by HBO*. I don’t know about you, but I know who is getting a card in the mail soon!

*If they shaft Alexander Hamiltion in this series, I am going to be annoyed.